Research Interests

The McNealy lab is all about adaptability. How
do we react to the world around us? In particular how do microbes react to the
world around them and how does that affect the way we react to them. The
primary niche of most microbes however is a biofilm. In this environment,
microbes can exist, persist, survive and adapt to a wide variety of factors.

The biofilms of man-made aquatic systems are our
primary interest. Here bacteria, archaea, protozoa and fungi unite and
interact. Not only do they interact with each other, but they also respond to a
wide array of environmental conditions and contaminants. Understanding these
interactions and reactions can lead to advances in how to control and eradicate
biofilms as well as potentially identifying unique bacterial genes that can be
targeted for development of antimicrobials and therapies. Our research
therefore spans the spectrum of microbial ecology to pathogenic microbiology.